On a journey for survival : everyday life during radiation therapy from the perspectives of women with breast cancer and their families

Abstract

To everyone who has believed in me Vi människor är sociala varelser. Vi kommer till denna värld som ett resultat av andras handlingar. För vår överlevnad är vi ömsesidigt beroende av varandra. Vare sig vi vill eller inte finns det inte en enda stund i livet då vi inte drar nytta av sådant som andra har gjort eller gör. Det är därför knappast förvånande att det mesta av vår lycka uppstår i relationer med andra. Inte heller är det anmärkningsvärt om vår största glädje uppstår när vi motiveras av omsorg om andra. Men det är mera än så. Allt tyder på att altruistiska handlingar inte bara skapar lycka, utan att de också minskar vår upplevelse av lidande. Vårt beteende mot andra blir automatiskt positivt när vi handlar av omsorg mot dem. Det är för att vi inte har plats för några misstankar när hjärtat är fyllt av kärlek. Det är som en inre dörr öppnas och låter oss komma ut. ABSTRACTThis thesis focuses on women diagnosed with breast cancer and their family members. Since a breast cancer diagnosis and its subsequent treatment are a strenuous experience not only for the woman afflicted but also for her family members, this thesis aimed to explore the experiences of everyday life during radiation therapy from the perspectives of the woman with breast cancer and her family, as well as exploring families' experiences of participating in short family health conversations (SFamHC). All included studies were interview studies (Papers I, II, III & IV), where 30 women (20 in Paper I and 10 in Paper II) with breast cancer, 19 family members including the women with breast cancer (Paper III) and 9 families (Paper IV) were interviewed. The data from the interviews was analysed using qualitative content analysis (Papers I & II), a hermeneutical phenomenological method (Paper III) and thematic analysis (Paper IV).The women's experiences of breathing adapted radiation therapy (BART) (Paper I) were identified in an overall theme, The breath of life, as the women experienced the breathing as a way to influence their treatment and thus their survival. The overall theme could be divided into one main category: Participating in one's treatment, for good or ill, with four subcategories: Knowing one has done something good, Getting an extra bonushealthwise, The experience of being in control and Being in a hightechnology environment.Women born in Iraq and the former Yugoslavia, diagnosed with breast cancer and living in Sweden, experienced their everyday life during radiation therapy as a narrow and challenging treatment road to survival (Paper II). Their experiences were structured into three categories: Strategies for survival, Keeping up appearances and Staying in control. More focus should be on acknowledging the woman behind the diagnosis, regardless of her origin, in order to 10 develop individualised support programmes to help women cope with everyday life during radiation therapy.The families' lived experience when a family member is diagnosed with breast cancer (Paper III) was described as a challenging endeavour to regain an or...

The Usefulness of Brief Family Health Conversations Offered to Families Following the Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

“…Breast cancer is an illness that not only affects the individual but also the family as a unit and its individual members (Coyne et al, 2012; Dieperink et al, 2017; Holst-Hansson, 2018; Holst-Hansson et al, 2017, 2018; Möllerberg et al, 2020). Family Systems Nursing (FSN) is an overarching theoretical orientation that acknowledges and addresses the multiple systems involved in the experience of health and illness: the individual, the family, the health care provider(s), and larger systems—all of whom are pivotal to health and healing (Bell, 2009; Bell & Wright, 2015; Leahey & Svavarsdottir, 2009; Shajani & Snell, 2019; Wright & Leahey, 2013).…”